A plan to bring the Nets to Brooklyn will have to go through a competitive bidding process – much like the Jets stadium deal – before the MTA grants its air rights to developer Bruce Ratner, officials said yesterday.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which owns the Atlantic Avenue Long Island Rail Road Yards where Ratner wants to build a $2.5 billion arena and residential complex, released a 24-page document inviting developers to bid on the land.

“Obviously, our purpose is to get the most money for the system we can,” said MTA spokesman Tom Kelly.

All bids are due July 6.

“We welcome the request for proposals and look forward to a successful completion of this stage of the project,” said Ratner spokesman Bruce Bender.

The process also requires bidders to include details of their proposals and set up a $500,000 fund within five days of being selected to cover the MTA’s anticipated contractual costs.

The MTA did not say when it would announce a winning bid for the three-block stretch of land.

The bid represents the latest roadblock that Ratner will have to pass in order to build the much-hyped Frank Gehry-designed venue.

For Ratner, a failed bid would be a disaster since he only purchased the Nets in order to make the team the centerpiece of his massive development project in Brooklyn.

“Let the best plan win,” said Councilwoman Letitia James (D-Brooklyn), one of the most vocal critics of the Nets arena project.

Real-estate experts doubt any serious rivals would make a play for the Atlantic Yards, because Ratner has already cut deals with many of the private homeowners near the site.